Musti Group

Retail

audits.io

Internal controls in three weeks to nearly three hundred stores

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INTRODUCTION

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In the spring of 2018, Musti Group organized a project to define and document all processes for the entire organization. In connection with this, the company also wanted to implement internal controls, which led the Musti Group to implement Plan Brothers' audits.io mobile solution for in-store processes. In-store controls are carried out at all stores in the chain, with both a weekly checklist and a monthly checklist. These checks include a comprehensive list of controls for various operations, such as purchase orders, inventory balances, inventory checks, and cash register tracking. The deployment took place in three different countries within the Musti Group and was implemented within just three weeks. Despite the fast schedule, implementation was welcomed: “When we introduced the solution, our external auditors said that they had never seen such an effective and high-quality implementation. And best of all, we've also received a lot of positive feedback on the ease-of-use and speed of the tool from the store front, ”says Riitta Helin, Group Business Controller.

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COMPANY

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Musti Group is the largest pet accessory retailer in the Nordic countries and the fourth largest in Europe. Musti Group operates in Finland (under the brand Musti ja Mirri), Sweden (Arken Zoo) and Norway (Musti). Founded in 1988 in Finland, Musti Group currently employs a total of 1,700 employees and serves its pet-friendly customers through its online store and 280 retail stores. Musti ja Mirri Oy is known among their clients for its excellent customer service and customer experience, acknowledged in various customer Customer relationship barometers, most recently in the Customer Relationship Index 2019. Correspondingly, several awards in the Great Place to Work survey - the competition for the best workplace in Finland - show high employee satisfaction.

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IMPLEMENTATION

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When planning the implementation, it was obvious that the challenge would be how to effectively and comprehensively implement the new process in nearly three hundred stores. Besides the smooth implementation, a requirement was that the solution should be easy to use in terms of daily store operations and administration. Musti Group never wants to make changes at the expense of great customer service, as the customer always comes first. For that reason, the store staff did not want to be burdened with complicated solutions to the already hectic store work. So, instead of Excel, Musti Group wanted to choose the right tool for the internal controls. “We already had Plan Brothers' audits.io mobile solution for stores’ concept audits, which we were pleased with. When we also heard requests from the store field that new tools would only complicate the daily work, we decided to proceed with the same application because of its flexibility, ”says Niina Wuorimaa, Accountant at Musti Group, opening the background for the tool selection.

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BENEFITS AND RESULTS

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With the audits.io solution in the store field, virtually all Musti Group personnel participate in internal controls. “The fact that there has been a lot of positive feedback from the stores is in itself a miracle. I don't think we could have done such an effective implementation with any other service provider, ”Helin praises.

With audits.io, relevant information is collected in a structured way across the entire Musti Group. Possible findings and non-conformances found in the internal controls and corrective actions can be recorded on a mobile device. In this way, the information collected in the internal controls is comparable and can be effectively utilized for decision making. The data generated by the system is integrated with QlikSense, the Business Intelligence (BI) tool used by Musti Group. QlikSense monitors and analyzes response rates for internal controls, content quality, and scores automatically generated by audits.io based on responses. This enables faster prioritization when solving problems.

In addition to in-store audits and internal controls, the audits.io tool has been used spontaneously in stores for spot checks. “On the whole, we have had a really positive and flexible image of both audits.io as a tool and Plan Brothers as a company. Don't write this there, but I’m sure we will deepen the cooperation in the future”, Riitta Helin says and laughs at the end.